As far as space goes, you’ll be hard pressed to find a hatchback/sedan that can contend with the 2016 Chevy Sonic in Miami. This vehicle has an abnormally spacious cabin for such a small hatchback, along with a decent amount of trunk space. Furthermore, the Sonic also has a cabin that is just as smart as it is spacious. Which means you’ll have plenty of room for your friends and whatever you feel like carrying, along with plenty of entertainment and safety technology features for the ride.

Actually, the Sonic sedan was able to score a perfect five-star rating in government crash tests. That safety score bodes well for the hatchback's rating, but we’ll get to that later.

A Spacious Interior

The interior of the Sonic is attractive and spacious, even if it is composed primarily of hard plastic. That just means it’s a more economy focused vehicle, as reflected by the cheap price tag. If you can get by that very minor detail (I’m sure you can) then you will have a hatchback (or sedan) that is sitting in the number three spot for segment, as far as storage space goes. The Honda Fit with 52.7 cu-ft and Kia Rio with 49.8 cu-ft both slightly beat the Sonic hatchbacks 47.7 cu-ft in terms of storage space. But, the 2016 Fit costs over $1,000 more than the Sonic hatchback, and the Rio doesn’t have the same quality build or safety score as the Sonic. Which leaves the Sonic hatchback as the champion when those three factors are considered. The sedan model Sonic has the largest trunk space in the class, which is 14.9 cu-ft, and can be expanded even further, thanks to the standard 60/40 folding seats.

As far as the cabin goes, it’s also hard to find another vehicle this size with this much head and leg room. Taller passengers will even have enough leg and head room to fit behind the steering wheel, and smaller passengers will find a decent amount of head and legroom in the back.

Being able to comfortably seat four passengers is important, because when your friends find out about the type of entertainment that’s packed into this little car, they’ll be piling in.

Fun for Everyone

The entertainment in the Sonic starts with Chevrolet’s available MyLink 7-inch diagonal color touch-screen. This system allows you to connect devices with Bluetooth wireless technology, and listen to your tunes, get directions, or make hands-free phone calls. All of this is done at the touch of a fingertip, which lets you keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. Alternatively, you can also use the USB port to hook up your phone or device to access apps and music playlists.

SiriusXM Satellite Radio is a must for any audiophile, which is why the Sonic comes with a 3-month trial so you can experience what it has to offer. Or, maybe you want to use your phone for the music. In that case, Stitcher SmartRadio provides you access to over 40,000 radio shows and podcasts, which you can stream all through a mobile app on your phone. The Pandora app you listen to with headphones or though the horrible phone speakers? That can also be played through the MyLink system if the app is installed on your phone. That way, you can have a more personalized music playlist. If you listen to some obscure stuff that only you know about, then just play the music files directly off your phone. The point is, whichever way you want to play your music, Chevy MyLink makes it possible.

So that you don’t eat up data, OnStar provides you with a connection to available built-in 4G LTE Wi-Fi. So listen to all the Pandora you want because you won’t be eating up data at all.

A Small Car That’s Big on Safety

Is it a small car? Yes, but just like the space and entertainment found in the Sonic, there is also a lot of safety. The sedan model won a five-star safety rating, which is a perfect score, from the NHTSA, and so did the hatchback.

The Sonic is the first car in its class to offer 10 standard airbags. Those airbags — and passengers — are surrounded by a high-strength steel safety cage that will mitigate and deflect impact damage. Also available are an array of advanced safety features, like Forward Collision alert, Lane Departure Warning, and a rear vision camera. All of these systems use either radar or camera based technology, and monitor the surroundings of the vehicle. If these systems detect objects or other vehicles getting too close, they will provide a warning and help you avoid a collision. Lane Departure Warning works a little differently, and instead monitors the lines found on lanes to make sure the vehicle stays on track. If the system’s camera notices the vehicle is leaving it’s intended lane unintentionally (ie. without a blinker) then it will provide a warning to let you know that you need to get back on track.

The Sonic also comes with built-in sensors that will contact an OnStar Advisor when a crash is detected. The advisor will attempt to contact you and see if you need help. If you fail to respond, they will use GPS technology to pinpoint your exact location and send emergency services your way. It’s part of the OnStar Guidance Plan, which is Chevy’s responsive safety technology if a crash occurs.

Prevent, protect, and respond: Chevy must be chanting this three-part collision combatant as a mantra by now, since this idea of safety is found on all of their vehicles.

Exactly What You’re Looking For

If you need a small and inexpensive car that is big on space and technology, then the 2016 Chevy Sonic is exactly what you’re looking for. While the sedan provides the largest trunk in the small sedan segment, the hatchback gets more storage space, and is right up there with the cargo volume class leaders. MyLink provides you with plenty of different options for playing music, and the advanced (and ordinary) safety technologies found on the Sonic ensure that you are kept safe — even if you are in a smaller vehicle.

Affordable, fun to drive, lots of technology, and above-average space. What more could you ask from a small car?